The Wife he threw Away (Claire and Lucian) novel Chapter 130

CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY LUCIAN’S POV

The drive back felt longer than it should have.

Not because of traffic. Not because of the distance between Sinclair&co and the mansion.

But because my mind wouldn’t stay still.

I kept seeing it.

Claire. And Nathaniel.

The way she hadn’t pulled away instinctively like she did when Richard Langford held her inappropriately a few years ago.

This time, she just let Nathaniel kiss her. No confusion, no hesitation.

It hadn’t been a mistake. 1

It had been a choice.

My grip tightened slightly on the steering wheel before I forced it to relax.

That shouldn’t have mattered.

But it did.

I let out a slow breath, fixing my eyes on the road ahead again.

What I was feeling wasn’t just anger. Not the kind I was used to.

It was something quieter, something less familiar. Something that didn’t settle no matter how I tried to

compartmentalize it.

Something that lingered.

I didn’t have a name for it, but I understood what it meant.

My thoughts shifted without my permission- back to Claire.

Not just about what happened now, but about everything that had happened before.

How many times had she seen me like that? 1

With someone else- with Eva.

How many times had she stood there-composed and trying to control her emotions-while I dismissed her without even realizing what I was doing?

I felt a muscle in my jaw tighten.

I had never asked. Never considered what it cost her to stay. To go through all of that whilst standing

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strong.

The realization sat in my chest, heavy and haunting.

“I should have seen it.”

Not just Eva’s lies, but everything else.

Everything Claire had had to endure because of me.

Maybe Nathaniel really was the better choice for her.

The car slowed as the gates opened.

The mansion came into view, exactly as it always was-still and polished.

But something about it felt different now as I pulled in.

When I stepped out, Camilla was already on the porch, waiting.

That alone was enough to make me uneasy.

I walked toward her, my expression unchanged.

“Sir…” She started.

Her tone was respectful, as always, but I could heart the tension beneath it.

“She hasn’t left.” Camilla said, shaking her head.

“And she’s been making calls. Saying… things that could be really harmful to you.”

Of course.

I didn’t ask who Eva has been talking to. Even if Camilla knew, I didn’t need to.

My gaze shifted past Camilla, toward the house.

“Where is she?” I asked.

“In your bedroom.”

I nodded once and quickly moved past her without another word.

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The hallway was quiet. So quiet, it brought back my childhood memories. That kind of silence meant something was waiting; most times it was the aftermath of a fight between my parents.

I reached the bedroom door, opened it and stepped inside.

Eva wasn’t packing. It didn’t look like she was getting ready to leave anytime soon.

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She was sitting on the bed comfortably, dressed in a pink robe.

Like nothing had changed.

Like she still belonged here.

Her gaze lifted when I entered, a faint smile touching her painted lips.

“You came back faster than I expected.”

I closed the door behind me gently.

“I told you to leave.” I said, through gritted teeth.

My temper was rising just by looking at her.

Eva didn’t mind my tone. She tilted her head slightly, unbothered. “And yet… I’m still here.”

For a moment, we both remained silent.

She watched me carefully, like she was waiting for something. A reaction.

I wouldn’t give her one.

“You don’t actually want me gone,” she said after a moment.

I didn’t respond. Instead, I watched her smile deepen.

“Because the moment I walk out of this house…” she continued calmly, almost like she was having a conversation about dinner. “…everything becomes public.”

There it was.

Not desperation, not fear.

Strategy.

I held her gaze.

“You’re overestimating your position.”

“Am I?” She smirked, rising to her feet and taking a few slow, deliberate steps towards me, closing some of the distance between us.

“Or are you underestimating what I’m willing to do?”

I shook my head. “I know you’re capable of murder.” I watched her smile disappear from her face instantly. “I wouldn’t put anything past you.”

“Good.” Eva said, her tone rigid and determined. “That is why it’s unwise to try to dispose me like this.”

“Is that a threat?” I almost laughed. “Eva, I’m not scared of you. In fact, I think you might have forgotten

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who you’re speaking to.”1

Eva didn’t say anything in response this time, but I saw the fire in her eyes dim- just slightly.

I already knew the type of game she thought she was playing.

And I knew exactly how it ended.

Her eyes searched mine, sharper now. More focused.

“Was she worth it?” she asked softly.

The question landed, but didn’t let it show.

I scoffed.

“You were never owed loyalty.”

I turned, taking a few steps toward the door, the weight of it all settling in-every mistake, every blind decision that turned my life into the hell it has become.

Then I stopped.

I turned around and looked at her properly this time.

“You inserted yourself where you didn’t belong.”

Eva let out a faint, unimpressed laugh.

“Please,” she waved a dismissive hand. “You did that by yourself. All I did was help you forget about your boring little housewife.”

I nodded once.

Then I studied her-really studied her.

The real Eva Sterling.

“Do all your adoring fans know what you are?” I asked quietly.

A pause.

“Or just what you pretend to be?” I continued. “”Do they know how evil you are? How you’re full of lies and schemes?”

I saw it before it happened.

Her hand came up-fast and sharp-

I caught it mid-air and held it there.

For a second, I considered it.

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Pushing her back.

Letting her feel even a fraction of what she’d done.

But I didn’t.

“Try that again,” I said, my voice low. “And we’ll have a different conversation.”

She didn’t pull away immediately.

Didn’t look afraid.

“If it’s any consolation,” she said, her eyes cold, empty, “Claire wasn’t my only target.”

My grip tightened slightly.

“That wench Margot should have died too.”

I studied her for a moment. Really looked this time.

Even when standing here, my hand holding hers mid-air, even when she was cornered… Eva was

relentless. Unmoved.

I cursed myself silently for bringing her into my home, for letting my desperation for an heir overshadow reason, for starting an affair with her in the first place.